Kimberly Flanagan: Indium Corporation uses a flux-coated preform instead of the more commonly used flux-cored preform. A flux-coated preform has the advantage of an oxidation barrier on the outside of the preform, whereas a flux-cored preform requires free flow in order to remove oxidation.

Phil Zarrow: What are some of the benefits of flux-coated preforms?

Kimberly Flanagan: Flux-coated preforms are solventless, so there's less voiding. They're non-tacky, so it's a hard flux coating that's fused onto the outside of the preform - and they can also come in many different colors. I've brought some pink ones here, and I brought some blue flux-coated preforms. They help the operators to distinguish different variables, so the color can help an operator determine whether it's Sn63 or SAC305.